


Imaginary Competition

by Nafffy (LeFemmeChevalier)



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Established Relationship, F/F, Friendship, Jealousy, Mentioned Hirai Momo, Mentioned Im Nayeon, Mentioned Kim Dahyun, Mentioned Other K-pop Artist(s), Son Chaeyoung-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23869768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeFemmeChevalier/pseuds/Nafffy
Summary: Just Chaeyoung being a witness to Mina's jealousy.
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Myoui Mina
Kudos: 71





	Imaginary Competition

**Author's Note:**

> Chaeyoung's POV

"Tell me the truth. Are you cheating on me?"

"Do you think I have the time? I am too busy to cheat. _We_ are all too busy."

"So you admit that you would?"

"How would it be even possible? We live in the same place."

"I don't see you all the time, Tzuyu."

"If you go out of your room once in a while, you'll probably see how I'm _not_ cheating on you."

Chaeyoung, who was looking at the two with a resigned expression, decided that she needs to get out of their shared hotel room as soon as possible. And as Mina continue to list all the reasons why Tzuyu is most definitely—but still unlikely in Chaeyoung's opinion—cheating on her with Elkie, the second youngest decided to text their leader out of desperation:

  
 _Can I stay in ur rum?_  
 _Just for tonight pls_  
 **Me**  
(8:00 PM) 

  
And as Chaeyoung watch Tzuyu groan in frustration again, her hair a bit messy because of how many times she has ran her hand through it in exasperation, her phone vibrated:

  
 _K_  
 **God Jihyo-unnie**  
(8:05 PM)

 _U ate dinner yet?_  
 **God Jihyo-unnie**  
(8:07 PM)

 _Hurry. Were eating dinner._  
 **God Jihyo-unnie**  
(8:07 PM)

  
"I'm heading out," Chaeyoung declared as she stood up and hurried towards the door, noticing how the two didn't even look her way. "Please try not to kill each other while I'm gone," she added as soon as she closed the door.

Now that the arguing voices are finally muffled, Chaeyoung took a relieved breath before happily skipping towards her temporary solace from the arguing couple.

* * *

Chaeyoung, by nature, is a non-confrontational person. She is the type who would rather keep quiet than argue because she thinks it's a waste of energy—she would rather do something productive with that energy like drawing or even composing some songs for their album.

Or even just scroll through her phone and watch their performances in Naver.

Consequently, it meant that she has no patience in watching people argue in front of her. And as Jihyo nodded at her sympathetically while Jeongyeon calmly listen to their second youngest's complaints, Chaeyoung was reminded how lucky she is that she has their other members to go to at times like this.

"Well, you know how Mina can be," Jihyo reasoned as she took a bite on her sandwich. "She has a temper."

"I know." Chaeyoung, who was playing with her fork, sighed. "I just think that she's being unreasonable. Tzuyu is not even doing anything."

"Relationships are complicated," Jeongyeon supplied as she took a big bite of her own sandwich. She reached for a glass of water and took a big gulp before adding, "and Mina is a really jealous person so there's that."

"But there's nothing to be jealous of."

"Jealousy is inherently petty," Jihyo replied as Jeongyeon nodded in agreement. "Sometimes you don't even need any reason at all."

Chaeyoung's eyebrows furrowed at that. "That seems unfair."

"It can be." Jihyo reached out for a napkin. "But it's not for us to decide. It's for them to figure it out. It's part of being in a relationship."

And when Mina texted her to apologize and to ask if they can have the room for themselves just for tonight, the younger girl can't help but feel relieved that everything seems okay.

* * *

"Have you ever thought of breaking up?"

"Never."

Chaeyoung raised her hands in mock surrender as Tzuyu looked at her with an almost horrified expression. "Relax. I was just joking," she said as she watch the younger girl sigh. "Kinda. I mean, aren't you getting tired of it?"

"Not really." Seeing the disbelief in Chaeyoung's eyes, Tzuyu chuckled before explaining. "She's not always like that. She only gets that way because of—"

"Elkie?"

"Yeah."

Silence came over as the two youngest girls sipped on their respective iced coffees. It was a warm morning and, as they all wait for their staff's signal to resume their shooting, they decided to take a break in the hotel's café.

Chaeyoung, as usual, is sketching—a hobby that has become a part of her routine. After a while, she glanced at the other girl who is now wearing a pensive expression as she look into nothing. "Why is she so jealous of Elkie, anyway?" She then playfully squinted her eyes at the other girl. "Is there something _we_ should know about?"

"Nothing," Tzuyu said with a chuckle and an eyeroll. "I don't like her like that. And vice versa," she added when she saw Chaeyoung open her mouth to reply. "We're really just friends."

Chaeyoung just hummed in reply, not pushing the issue further as she remembered Jihyo's words ealier. She just busied herself with her hand as the colored pencil filled up a portion of her artwork.

Chaeyoung has a great admiration and respect towards artists. For her, it is a great privilege to see the world the way they see it—chaotic but beautiful; orderly but complex; serene but turbulent. And having a mother who has the eye for artistry, she has come to appreciate the different art styles growing up. In time, with enough practice and patience, she eventually found her own.

Her art subjects are varied, but one of her favorite is Twice. One by one, she tried to capture their beauty the way she sees it—with varied colors and different shapes that represents who they are.

And out of all her subjects so far, Mina is probably the most beautiful. Chaeyoung thinks that everyone in Twice is beautiful, yes, but there is this refined quality in Mina that she can only describe with pastel colors and intricate but delicate lines.

"That's pretty," Tzuyu commented as soon as Chaeyoung finished drawing an abstract that, in her opinion, perfectly encapsulates Mina. "I like the colors."

"Thanks," Chaeyoung said as she gives a smile to her friend. "It's your jealous girlfriend," she quipped and Tzuyu gave a chuckle at that.

The younger girl then wordlessly asked for it and Chaeyoung complied as she handed over her sketchbook. "No wonder it's pretty."

Tzuyu, in Chaeyoung opinion, is a very beautiful girl—the kind that is conventional and a given. But for some reason, she sometimes find it hard to see her the way the world sees her. In her eyes, the younger girl is akin to a blank canvass. She's also like one of those Barbie dolls that Momo loves so much—something that you have to dress up in various clothing to fully appreciate their loveliness.

So whenever she tries to draw Tzuyu, all her mind can come up with is blank—like a canvass waiting to be painted on.

But as Tzuyu stare at the drawing, Chaeyoung can't help but get a glimpse of what others are seeing. Maybe it's the way her eyes lit up as her hand touches the paper. Maybe it's the soft smile that surfaced as the younger girl started talking about angels that needed to be incorporated in the drawing for the sake of accuracy.

Or maybe it's the gentle quality in her tone as she wistfully said, "I wish I could draw as well as you. Then I can give something nice like this to Mina as a gift."

Mina is the most beautiful subject Chaeyoung has ever drawn—the kind of beauty that can only be described with pastel colors and delicate lines. But as she stare at Tzuyu, smiling slightly at the way the younger girl prattles on about taking drawing lessons someday, she can't help but remind herself that she needed to capture Tzuyu's beauty next.

The kind of beauty, she realized, that can only be described in black-and-white. The kind of beauty that has this complicated shapes and crisscrossing lines that will make you pause in wonder, unsure of what you are actually seeing but appreciating it nonetheless.

And as their staff gestures for them, motioning for them to get ready for the shoot, Chaeyoung is already hoping for a peaceful night later so she can start working on her new art.

And as the two of them get into the position, she can't help but notice how Mina's eyes immediately lit up—like the delicate shimmer of pastel against white—at the sight of them before placing herself beside Tzuyu like always.

And, as she quietly observe the two who has kept close all throughout their 'vacation', Chaeyoung's artistic eyes can't help but wonder how, despite the oddity of the art, pastel and black-and-white really _do_ look good together.

* * *

In Chaeyoung's opinion, there are three types of competitiveness in Twice.

The first one is Nayeon: the type who will readily challenge anyone and everyone without any prompting. She has the kind of competitiveness that riles other people into being one; a verifiable heckler and that metaphorical devil-on-your-shoulder kind of competitor.

"Let's tear each other apart," the eldest declared as she sat down on the floor. It was one of those idle moments in their dorm where everyone is too bored with peace but too hyped for sleep. "Who wants to go first?"

And as everyone accuse everyone of being a mafia with Nayeon egging each and every one of them into a pseudo-argument, Chaeyoung, who was already 'killed' a few rounds ago, can't help but look at the _actual_ mafia who is currently accusing an indignant Dahyun for being one.

That brings her to the second one: Jihyo. Their leader, although not as fiery nor as eager as their eldest, is just as scarily competitive. This gets more apparent whenever they play individual games in the waiting room.

"Hurry," Jihyo will say as she semi-drag an uncooperative Jeongyeon into a proper position. "Everyone in their position?"

Maybe it's the fact that she is the leader, but Jihyo is the type of competitiveness that strictly follows the rules with fervor and with the determination of needing to win. But compared to Nayeon, she is more accepting when things don't go in her favor.

And that brings Chaeyong to the third and probably the most competitive one: Mina.

Mina, as everyone knows, is a generally quiet person who usually just goes along with everything. But when the music is on and everyone is scrambling to fix their steps, she will always be the first one to speak up.

"How about we do this?" she will always say before demonstrating a move that she thinks will go well with their routine. Next to her, Momo, who is their unofficial choreographer, will nod and add some more until their official choreographer is finally satisfied with the changes.

At first, Chaeyoung just chalked it up as Mina being a hardworker. But in time, she has learned that it was actually due to her competitive nature—the kind that won't let anyone get ahead of her (or them) no matter what.

"It may not seem like it but Mina hates losing," Sana once said to her as they watch Mina and Momo dance in one corner. "She really hates the idea of it."

Chaeyoung, not having any competitive bone in her body, just nodded in reply. But she never forgot Sana's words because Mina's actions never let her as, time and time again, she will do things that validates it.

Like how Tzuyu, while wearing a sheepish smile, gave Chaeyoung a bottle of expensive perfume one day.

"Are you sure?"

The younger girl shrugged. "I don't exactly have a choice. She really hates it."

Chaeyoung reached out for the perfume. "This is expensive, Tzuyu." She then took the bottle out and sprayed it on her wrist before taking a whiff. "And it actually suits you. Are you sure you want to give it away?"

The other girl just nodded on reply. "Elkie will be disappointed but I rather her be disappointed than Mina. Besides, I can't have my girlfriend frowning every time she smells it on me." Tzuyu then paused before adding, "come to think of it, she never even try to smell it yet."

"Really?"

Tzuyu shrugged again. "She just said she doesn't like this particular brand. So I guess it's yours now."

Thinking that there's nothing wrong with accepting free stuff from a friend, Chaeyoung just shrugged and put the expensive perfume in her bag. "Does Mina-unnie know it's from Elkie?"

"Yes. I told her since she was wondering if it's from a fan."

At the time, Chaeyoung has an unconfirmed hunch about the perfume issue. But being the non-confrontational person that she is, she decided to just let it go. Although her hunch was confirmed the next day when, during one of their performances, Mina commented on her perfume.

"It smells nice. Is that new?"

Chaeyoung, despite herself, was surprised at the comment because of her conversation with Tzuyu. But as she searched Mina's smiling face for insincerity, she was surprised to find none.

In Chaeyoung's opinion, there are three types of competitiveness in Twice: the first one is Nayeon, the second one is Jihyo, and the third one is Mina. The three have, in their own way, shown how competitive they are in several occasions.

But out of all these three, the most competitive one is definitely Mina. Because Mina, even though the competition is just an imagined one, wouldn't let anyone get ahead of her.

Because, as Sana explained, Mina simply hates losing.

* * *

"Are you really going to spend Valentine's Day with her?"

"It's just for show. You and I will spend the rest of it together in Jihyo-unnie's house afterwards."

"Then why do you have to go?"

"Because I already promised Elkie that I will."

"Why are you being so difficult, Tzuyu?"

"Why are _you_ being so difficult, Mina?"

Chaeyoung, who was looking at the two with a resigned expression, turned her head to her left to look at their leader who was observing the whole scene with amusement. "Help," she mouthed and the older girl chuckled before finally interfering.

"Break it up, you two." Jihyo then turned to Mina. "Let's go finish packing."

And as Jihyo drag Mina away from the living room, Chaeyoung saw Tzuyu sigh before looking at her with a befuddled expression. "Am I wrong?"

Chaeyoung just shrugged. "I refuse to comment."

Chaeyoung, by nature, is a non-confrontational person. She is the type who would rather keep quiet than argue because she thinks it's a waste of energy—she would rather do something productive instead.

That's why, in a way, she admire Tzuyu's patience—mostly because she can't imagine being in her shoes.

"So," she drawled, breaking the silence that washed over them. "Have you ever thought of breaking up?"

Chaeyoung, as time goes by, learned how relationships really are complicated. In a way, accepting that idea comes with maturity—the one that Tzuyu has an edge over her because the younger girl has always been mature for her age.

As such, she knows that when she asked the question, there's already an expected answer:

"Never."

Chaeyoung, the non-confrontational person that she is, just laughed as she playfully patted Tzuyu's head in reply. Because even if she _is_ a confrontational person, she knows that there is nothing to confront anyways.

Because she knows that the two, despite their occasional petty arguments, will never break up.

* * *

**End**


End file.
